Parent and Family Engagement – Moriah Central School

Exhibit 1900

The Board of Education believes that positive parent and family engagement is essential to student achievement, and thus encourages such involvement in school educational planning and operations. Parent and family engagement may take place either in the classroom or during extracurricular activities. However, the Board also encourages parent and_family engagement at home ( e.g., planned home reading time, informal learning activities, and/or homework “contracts” between parents, family members and children). The Board directs the Superintendent of Schools to develop a home-school communications program in an effort to encourage all forms of parent and family engagement.

Title I Parent and Family Engagement- District Level Policy

Consistent with the parent and family engagement goals of Title I, Part A of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and its reauthorization in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Board of Education will develop and implement programs, activities and procedures that encourage and support the participation of parents and family members of students eligible for Title I services in all aspects of their child’s education. The Board also will ensure that all of its schools receiving Title I, Part A funds develop and implement school level parent and family engagement procedures, as further required by federal law.

For purposes of this policy, parental involvement refers to the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication, involving student academic learning and other school activities.

At a minimum, parent and family engagement programs, activities and procedures at both the district and individual school level must ensure that parents and family members:

- - - Play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;
    - Are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school; and
    - Are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child.

The federal definition of the term “parents” refers to a natural parent, legal guardian or other person standing in loco parentis (such as a grandparent or step parent with whom the child lives, or a person who is legally responsible for the child’s welfare).

District and school level Title I parent and family engagement programs, activities and procedures will provide opportunities for the informed participation of parents and family members (including those who have limited English proficiency, parents and family members with disabilities, and parents and family members of migratory children.

As further required by federal law, parents and family members of students eligible for Title I services will be provided an opportunity to participate in the development of the district’s Title I plan, and to submit comments regarding any aspect of the plan that is not satisfactory to them. Their comments will be forwarded with the plan to the State Education Department.

Parents and family members also will participate in the process for developing either a comprehensive or targeted “support and improvement plan” when the school their child attends is identified by the State as needing this plan.

Parent and family member participation in development of district wide Title I plan

The Board, along with its superintendent of schools and other appropriate district staff will undertake the following actions to ensure parent and family member involvement in the development of the district wide Title I plan:

MCS will hold meetings at flexible times with accessible locations, provide School-Parent compacts, and communicate with parents with either mailings and/or survey parents by phone, mail or email. The District will also provide transportation as needed.

Development of school level parent and family engagement approaches

The superintendent of schools will ensure that all district schools receiving federal financial assistance under Title I, Part A are provided coordination, technical assistance and all other support necessary to assist them in planning and implementing effective parent and family engagement programs and activities that improve student achievement and school performance. As appropriate to meet individual local needs, the superintendent will:

MCS will hold meetings at flexible times with accessible locations and communicate with parents with either mailings and/or survey parents by phone, mail, or email.

Building capacity for parental involvement

To build parent capacity for strong parental involvement to improve their child’s academic achievement, the district and its Title I, Part A schools will, at a minimum:

1. Assist parents in understanding such topics as the state’s academic content challenging academic standards, state and local academic assessments, Title I requirements, how to monitor their child’s progress and how to work with educators to improve the achievement of their child. To achieve this objective, the district and its Title I schools will:

MCS will distribute educational materials that pertains to academic content and testing. Provide parents with better explanations of the testing process and use of data and provide workshops when applicable. Progress monitoring will also be done to improve academic achievement.

2. Provide materials and training to help parents work to improve their child’s academic achievement such as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy). To achieve this objective, the district and its Title I schools will:

MCS will involve parents in training and education that the District is involved in.

3. Educate its teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals and other school leaders, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in understanding the value and utility of a parent’s contributions and on how to:

- - - - reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners;
        
        implement and coordinate parent programs;
        
        build ties between parents and the schools.

To achieve this objective, the district and its Title I schools will:
Involve parents in developing training in order to improve its effectiveness when needed.

4. Ensure that information related to school and parent-related programs, meetings and other activities is sent to the parents of children participating in Title I programs in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats, upon request, and to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand.

Coordination of parental involvement strategies

The district will coordinate and integrate strategies adopted to comply with Title I, Part A parental involvement requirements with parental involvement strategies adopted in connection with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool programs. It will do this by:

The Special Education Director will Coordinate programs and strategies and identify what monitoring or follow up procedures will be conducted.

Review of district wide parent and family engagement policy

The Board, along with its superintendent of schools and other appropriate staff will conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and family_policy in improving the academic quality of Title I schools, including the identification of barriers to greater participation by parents in activities under this policy, and the revision of parent and family engagement policies necessary for more effective involvement.

The District will do this through Open Houses, Parent Compacts, Report Card Night and on-going communication through District approved websites and other communication tools.

Cross-ref: 4010, Equivalence in Instruction

Ref: 20 USC §§6318(a)(2)_;_7801(38), Every Student Succeeds Act_(§l 116 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act)
U.S. Department of Education, Parental Involvement, Title I, Part A, Non-Regulatory Guidance, April 23, 2004

Adoption date: 10/18/2016

Exhibit 1900-E.1

Title I Parent and Family Engagement – School Level Approach

The Moriah Central School District recognizes that parents and family members play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning. We encourage parents and family members to be actively involved in their child’s education at school and to become full partners in school educational planning and operations. Consistent with the parent involvement goals of Title I, Part A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of2001 (NCLB) and the Every Student Succeeds Act of2015 (ESSA):

1. The Building Principal and appropriate staff shall convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to inform parents of the school’s participation in Title I programs, and to explain Title I requirements and the right of the parents to be involved. All parents of children participating in a Title I program will be invited to the meeting.

2. The school staff shall offer a flexible number of meetings to provide parents the opportunity to meet with school staff and otherwise participate in their child’s education. These meetings shall be held at flexible times (e.g., morning or evening) and/or in highly accessible places such as public housing projects, etc.

3. The school will provide parents with timely information about Title I programs. School staff will also describe and explain the curriculum in use at the school, the types of academic assessment that will be used to measure student progress and the proficiency levels the students are expected to meet. Parents may also request regular meetings with school staff to make suggestions and to participate, as appropriate in decisions relating to the education of their child. The school will respond to any such suggestions as soon as practical.

4. The school staff shall involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of Title I programs, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school’s parent and family engagement policy.

Student Academic Achievement School-Parent Compact

School-Parent Compact

To help our children achieve, we agree to abide by the following conditions during the 2016-17 school
year:

School Responsibilities

The school will:

- - - Provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment;
    - Hold parent-teacher conferences during these conferences, this compact will be discussed as it relates to your child’s academic achievement;
    - Provide parents with frequent reports on their child’s progress;
    - Provide parents reasonable access to staff; and
    - Provide parents with opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class and to observe classroom activities.
    - Ensure regular two-way, meaningful communication between parents and family members and school staff, and, to the extent practicable, in a language that the parents and family members can understand

Parents’ Responsibilities
We, as parents, will support our children’s learning in the following ways:

- - - Monitor my child’s attendance;
    - Make sure that homework is completed;
    - Limit amount of television my child watches;
    - Volunteer in my child’s school;
    - Participate in decisions regarding my children’s education;
    - Promote positive use of my child’s extracurricular time; and
    - Stay informed about my child’s education and communicate with the school regularly.

Student Responsibilities
As a student, I will share the responsibility to improve my grades, and agree to:

Do homework every day and ask for help when needed;

Read at least 20 minutes a day outside of school; and

Give to my parents all notices and information received by me from my school every day.

__________ ____________ ______________

School Parent Student

__________ ____________ ______________

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